The present invention relates to an improved system for increasing the contact ratio or rate of ozone to a liquid, such as water, to improve the cleaning and/or sterilization efficiency of the liquid during use.
As is well known in the art, the application of ozone to a cleaning liquid, such as water, acts as a disinfectant as well as removing dirt, debris and other contaminants from a laundry detergent so that the laundry detergent can again be effective in removing dirt, debris and other contaminants from the clothing to be laundered. While it is known that dissolving ozone in a liquid, such as water, will assist with improving the cleaning and sterilization efficiency of the liquid, a number of the currently available prior art systems suffer a variety of associated drawbacks. In particular, a portion of the ozone which is added to the liquid does not become completely dissolved within or directly contact the liquid and thus is readily given off, dissipated and/or evaporated from the liquid as soon as the liquid enters into a reservoir or some other expansion chamber, for example. The undissolved ozone is not effective cleaning or disinfecting and thus not all of the ozone, which is added to the liquid, is active or effective in achieving the desired cleaning and/or sterilization intended by the ozonated liquid.
Wherefore, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the above mentioned shortcomings and drawbacks associated with the prior art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system which effectively dissolves substantially all of the added ozone within the liquid to increase the contact rate of the ozone to liquid (e.g. water) from a typical rate of about 60% to a rate of about 80% to about 90% thereby improving the cleaning and/or sterilization capability of the ozonated liquid.
A further object of the present invention is to increase the agitation of the liquid, following application of the ozone to the liquid, to facilitate a substantially complete break up and substantially complete dissolving of any small bubbles and/or pockets of ozone, remaining within the liquid, to achieve the desired cleaning and/or sterilization with the ozonated liquid prior to introducing the ozonated liquid into a reservoir or some other expansion chamber or container.
Yet another object of the present invention is to minimize the amount of movable components required in a mixing chamber of the system, to facilitate substantially complete dissolving of the added ozone, so as to minimize the servicing and/or maintenance requirements of the system while also increasing the longevity and durability of the system.
A still further object of the present invention is to increase the quantity of ozone dissolved within the liquid, such as water, by at least 25 percent and preferably as much as about 50 percent or more, so that the parts per million concentration of ozone dissolved within the liquid may be in excess of one part per million, in the mixing chamber, but will be no more than 1 part per million in the reservoir.
Another object of the present invention is to add a sufficient quantity of ozone to a liquid, such as water, so that the liquid can be used for cleaning soiled laundry without having to heat the water to an elevated temperature, e.g. a temperature of about 72 degrees Fahrenheit or greater, which is generally required to activate most laundry detergents and/or bleaches.
A further object of the present invention is to add a sufficient quantity of ozone to a liquid, such as water, so that the ozonated liquid can thereafter be used as a disinfectant to kill germs, bacteria, algae, and other customary microorganisms and diseases found within swimming pools, spas, hot tubs and the like.
Still another object of the present invention is to reduce consumption of laundry detergent by dissolving a greater amount of ozone within the liquid containing the laundry detergent, e.g. water, to remove a maximum amount of dirt, debris and other components from the laundry detergent and thereby enhance cleaning of the laundered clothing while minimizing use of the laundry detergent and/or the liquid.
Yet another object of the present invention is to collect and save a desired quantity of liquid (e.g. water) in one holding tank, or preferably two holding tanks, supported above the washing machine, and reuse all or a portion of the collected and save liquid, during either the same or the next cycle of the system, to minimize the liquid consumption of the system according to the present invention.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system which can be readily coupled to existing washing machines or other reservoirs to facilitate conversion of the same so that ozonated liquid may be utilized with such existing washing machines and/or reservoirs and thereby minimize the amount of pollutants and other contaminants which are discharged by the existing washing machines or reservoirs into a municipal sewer line.
The present invention also relates to a system for supplying ozone to a liquid stream, the system comprising an ozone generator for generating ozone; a reservoir containing a quantity of a liquid to be ozonated; a venturi for mixing the liquid to be ozonated with the generate ozone, the venturi having an inlet and an outlet with an orifice being located between the inlet and the outlet, and the ozone generator being coupled to the orifice for supplying the generated ozone thereto; a pump, coupled to an outlet of the reservoir and to the inlet of the venturi, for pumping liquid to be ozonated from the reservoir to the venturi; the outlet of the venturi being connected to a return inlet of the reservoir for supplying ozonated liquid back to the reservoir in a turbulent manner; and a mixing chamber coupling the outlet of the venturi to the return inlet of the reservoir, and the mixing chamber causing sufficient mixing of the ozone supplied to the liquid to be ozonated to facilitate substantially complete dissolving of any ozone bubbles and ozone pockets to thereby result in a contact rate of ozone to the liquid to be ozonated in excess of about 60% and form a substantially uniform mixture of ozonated liquid.
The present invention also relates to a system for supplying ozone to a liquid stream, the system comprising an ozone generator for generating ozone; a reservoir containing a quantity of a liquid to be ozonated; a venturi for mixing the liquid to be ozonated with the generate ozone, the venturi having an inlet and an outlet with an orifice being located between the Inlet and the outlet, and the ozone generator being coupled to the orifice for supplying the generated ozone thereto; a pump, coupled to an outlet of the reservoir and to the inlet of the venturi, for pumping liquid to be ozonated from the reservoir to the venturi, and the pump includes a filter for filtering the liquid to be ozonated prior to pumping the liquid to be ozonated to the venturi; the outlet of the venturi being connected to a return inlet of the reservoir for supplying ozonated liquid back to the reservoir in a turbulent manner; a mixing chamber coupling the outlet of the venturi to the return inlet of the reservoir, and the mixing chamber causing sufficient mixing of the ozone supplied to the liquid to be ozonated to facilitate substantially complete dissolving of any ozone bubbles and ozone pockets to thereby result in a contact rate of ozone to liquid in excess of about 60% and form a substantially uniform mixture of ozonated liquid; the system being used in combination with a washing machine, and the washing machine having a sump coupled to the inlet of the system and the outlet of the system supplies the ozonated liquid to the reservoir, and the ozone generator comprising at least one drier for removing moisture from the air, and the at least one drier is connected to an ozone cell for supplying the dried air thereto and facilitating generation of ozone from the dried air.
Finally, the present invention relates to a method of supplying ozone to a liquid stream, said method comprising the steps of generating ozone with an ozone generator; providing a reservoir containing a quantity of a liquid to be ozonated; mixing the liquid to be ozonated with the generate ozone in an venturi, the venturi having an inlet and an outlet with an orifice being located between the inlet and the outlet, and the ozone generator being coupled to the orifice for supplying the generated ozone thereto; coupling a pump to an outlet of the reservoir and to the inlet of the venturi for pumping liquid to be ozonated from the reservoir to the venturi; connecting the outlet of the venturi to a return inlet of the reservoir for supplying ozonated liquid back to the reservoir in a turbulent fashion; and coupling a mixing chamber to the outlet of the venturi to the return inlet of the reservoir, and the mixing chamber causing sufficient mixing of the ozone supplied to the liquid to be ozonated to facilitate substantially complete dissolving of any ozone bubbles and ozone pockets to thereby result in a contact rate of ozone to liquid in excess of about 60% and form a substantially uniform mixture of ozonated liquid.